How COVID Mutates to Create Variants
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Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has been composed of not just one strain, but rather multiple different mutations.
These COVID mutations have caused problems in the healthcare sector due to the varying effects of each strain. Some can transmit through people who are vaccinated, and others have a much higher infection rate than the original strain. This becomes a major issue if the healthcare system is not adequately equipped.
Most viruses are reliant on infecting hosts to survive and further replicate itself; COVID-19 is not an exception. The virus enters the human body, binds itself to the cells, and forces the cells to create more of the virus. During this process, when the genetic code gets translated into proteins, the code can sometimes change, causing mutations. The probability of this happening is much greater with a highly-contagious virus such as COVID, hence the rise of various mutated strains.
When scientists work to develop vaccines, they account for potential mutations that the virus could undergo. Examining COVID in particular, the vaccines distributed have been thoroughly tested against many possible variations. This allows the vaccine to provide a general protection against future mutations.
However, with the current two most recent, prevalent COVID mutations, the Delta variant and Omicron variant, the vaccine can only negate so many of the effects. The Delta variant, according to the Government of Canada’s official COVID webpage, is 50 per cent more transmissible compared to the virus identified at the start of the pandemic, and has an impact on vaccine efficacy. Individuals who are vaccinated can still get infected by the variant in what is known as a breakthrough infection, and can spread the virus to others. Similarly, the Omicron variant can infect despite the vaccine, though the severity is reduced. However, it is far more contagious. Additionally, the Omicron variant can reduce the effectiveness of some antibody treatments.
In the spring of 2021, Ontario experienced a spike in COVID cases, with over 60 per cent caused by mutations, specifically the B.1.1.7 variant, or the Alpha variant. At that time, vaccines were not widely available across the country. Ontario saw a rise in hospitalizations amongst the younger generations, as well as a higher mortality rate.
In the past three months, the Omicron variant has started to overwhelm healthcare workers across the world. In January 2022, Canada had broken its one-day record for most hospitalizations attributed to COVID-19. In the United States around the same time, COVID hospitalizations reached a record high of 132,646, according to a Reuters tally conducted that month.
Large surges of COVID cases are difficult for hospitals to handle, especially considering the shortage of space, nurses and doctors.
According to interviews conducted by NowThis News, healthcare workers across the US report that many of their colleagues have reached their breaking point with this pandemic, quitting their jobs, putting even more pressure onto the remaining workers. This spirals into circumstances difficult to control, which is how the emergence of variants can quickly overwhelm healthcare systems internationally.